Five year optimism for first time buyers

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Many potential first time buyers are confident that they can secure a footing on the property ladder in the next five years.

Despite the end of the recent stamp duty holiday, an optimistic one in eight people are confident they can buy their first property in the next five years, according to research from the Post Office.

Of those who plan to buy their first home within the next five years, almost a quarter (22%) hope to do so in 2013 with one in seven (14%) expecting to buy in 2012.

The research also reveals the first time buyers who want to buy and need to raise a deposit, expect to save an average deposit of 16%.

"First time buyers are the life blood of the property market and our research shows that challenging stories about first time buyers and wider economic issues have not dampened aspirations to get on the housing ladder," said Mike Cook, head of mortgages at Post Office.

"It is also interesting to see that despite the resurgence of 10% deposit mortgages recently, the average first time buyer is aiming for the cheaper rates available at 15% or 20% deposit - even if it takes that bit longer to save."

But with the path to the first time buyer market remaining a difficult one to navigate, less than half of those looking to buy think they will be able to save a deposit on their own.

More than a quarter (28%) will save together with a partner, with 16% looking to parents to give them a helping hand.

A savvy 16% have ambitions to use the Government's newly launched FirstBuy scheme to help them buy their first home.

The initiative allows buyers to secure newly built properties with small deposits.

The Government said the scheme will help around 100,000 families to buy a home, while creating thousands of jobs in the house building sector.

On 31 December, phase two of the Help to Buy initiative will be withdrawn from the market. It’s certainly done wonders for the high loan-to-value sector, so we thought we’d take a closer look at the significance of the scheme and the effect it’s had.